Trap
The Muon Trap, or just the Ghost Trap is one of the tools used in capturing ghosts. History The Trap is a sealed container that allowed the Ghostbusters to transport the spirits to the Containment Unit, where they would be released into the grid. It is unclear what happens to the trap once placed inside the grid, though some have theorized that when a captured ghost is put into the Containment Unit, the entity is pumped out of the trap cartridge so it can be used again. Once a trap has captured a ghost and has closed, it cannot be re-opened without releasing the ghost contained within. For this reason, the Ghostbusters must each carry several traps. They must dispose of a trap once it is used. Video Games In the video games, traps were often absent. Some games had the player getting a ghost into the trap in order to catch it and some had no traps and simply had the ghosts destroyed by a blast from the proton pack. In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the player is able to use a traps to capture ghosts and confine it indefinitely after the ghost is trapped. The trap can also hold many ghosts without getting too full. Some ghosts in the game simply dissipate after long enough exposure to the Proton Stream or other weapons. Secondary Canon History Ghost Trap in the Animated Series At first glance the Traps in the Real Ghostbusters, look like they work the same way, but they actually performed some different functions and have different characteristics(though some of these functions were present in the second movie, such as the trap being capable of capturing multiple ghosts at one time). The Containment Unit is also used differently. The animated traps are capable of "sucking a ghost into itself the entire time it is open, not just as it is closing (as with the original movie traps). IDW Comics Banished by Koza'Rai, the Ghostbusters came up with their own designs for various equipment such as the Trap. While Peter's most closely resembled the original, Ray's looked to be modified from a chest, and those used by Janine's Ghostbusters Versailles were created by Leonardo da Vinci. An avatar of Britt stole a Trap from the Firehouse basement and used it to capture and temporarily store a portion of Gozer's essence. Several Traps were used to capture the Megaspook but it approved too powerful and melted them all as it escaped. One Trap was unable to hold one of The Collectors, the one that resembled Winston, for long. Rodefhiri, while multiplying its psychokinetic reserves via absorption of ambient mental energy, resisted the pull of one Trap. Five Traps total were able to capture it. During an encounter with Chi-You at the Madison Square Garden, it was discovered he could not be trapped before first severing the tethers he had to his thralls. Ray Stantz (2014). IDW Comics- "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Issue #3" (2014) (Comic p.5). Ray says: "He should've been sucked right into the trap. There's no way he could fight it unless--unless he's more directly connected to his thralls than we thought." The Trap holding Chi-You was dumped in the Turtles' dimension, 4.2 light years from Earth. For the Poveglia case, Ray stored the Poveglian Artifact in the back up Trap because it was the only thing on hand capable of containing the psychokinetic energy the artifact was drenched in. In the finale of the County Clare case, Aibell ripped a Trap in half with her bare hands - releasing the captured Banshee in it. Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime The Ghostbusters continue to use traps to capture ghosts but are exhausted. They hire a junior team and equip them with new Proton Packs. The capabilities of these Packs reduce the need for the traps. The junior team only uses them once they've weakened a controlling entity such as the Electroshock Construct or Slime Golem. One clear change in the traps is the lack of a cord, which suggest that they run by remote control of some kind. Design and Use Ray Stantz warns the other Ghostbusters not to look directly into the trap when it is open. Egon Spengler does just that, but suffers no ill effects. This also happens in 1989 when they caught the Jogger Ghost. Peter Venkman looks in the trap and suffers no ill effects. However, it's believed that if you look in the trap for too long, you'll go blind. Also, some have speculated that if you look into a ghost trap, the trap will suck out and imprison your soul. This idea was used in the fan film Return of the Ghostbusters. Capturing a ghost occurs in three steps: 1) Zap 'em - Fire a Proton Stream at the ghost until they lose sufficient P.K.E. 2) Cap 'em - Activate a Capture Stream holding the ghost in place. 3) Trap 'em - Activate the trap and move the ghost to the storage facility. The trap differs greatly in Ghostbusters: The Video Game compared to the films. It does not differ in appearance, but in behavior. For example, in the films you would need to have someone push down a button, which is linked to the trap, with their foot, and the ghost is sucked in automatically. However, in the video game the trap had replaced this "button" with a red beacon signal coming from the trap itself that, when a ghost comes into contact with it, opens and slowly sucks the ghost in. However, the Ghostbusters must use the Capture Stream to keep the ghost in the containment cone the trap releases, thus "forcing" them in. This is not how the trap reacted in the films. Perhaps it is due to the fact that, since that game is set in 1991, the ghosts have grown much more powerful, thus the trap needing the help of the Capture Stream. However, this would not explain how Slimer is able to resist the containment cone just as the other ghosts because he was seen getting sucked in automatically in the first film. In fact, Ray had even said, "Turn off your streams as soon as I close the trap." Another explanation could be that the Psi Energy Pulse seen in the beginning of the game had given every ghost in New York greater strength, including Slimer. This would make sense since Slimer was able to break free of the Paranormal Containment Research Tank after the pulse as he was unable to before. Either way, the trap will contain a ghost indefinitely until it is transferred to the Containment Unit. Development Ghostbusters II The Industrial Light and Magic animation department also expanded on the Trap and its interaction with ghosts. Instead of just having the ghosts disappear into the Trap, the team animated the ghosts coming apart and added comets and lightning to the inside of the trap cone field. Mike Lessa devised a staggered effect where Nunzio was sucked into the Trap head first and his shoes would be left behind for a few seconds. Dennis Muren suggest Tony Scoleri's eyes to be left behind for an instant. Eisenberg, Adam (November 1989). Ghostbusters Revisited, Cinefex magazine #40, page 20. Cinefex, USA. Trivia *According to Drew Haworth, Creative Director of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, there were discussions of Traps that players could plant like trip mines. Once set, it was like a 'super bomb' that pulled everything in the room including physical objects. Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16 Drew Haworth says: "There was a lot of discussion about having traps that you could stick, like trip mines. You could stick them on ceilings or on walls. There was a trap that once you set it, it was like a super bomb. It would pull everything in, everything in the room, into it, including physical objects ." *In the Ghostbusters: Mass Hysteria hard cover collection, different views of the Trap are explored on **The front cover has a bird's eye view of a closed Trap **The interior cover is from the perspective of looking up at the opening of a Trap from the inside **Page 1 is looking into the Trap while not in use **Pages 2 and 3 show a partially disassembled Trap on top a Trap schematic **Page 464 shows a Trap's circuit board **The interior back cover shows the entirety of a Trap schematic **The back cover is the underside of a Trap *In Ghostbusters International #4, page 8, Ray falls "victim" to the classic 'don't look in the Trap' gag from the first movie. *In Ghostbusters International #4, page 6, Peter is seen carrying two Traps on his belt. *In Ghostbusters International #4, page 18, Ray speculated if the Poveglian artifact could generate a large enough P.K.E. surge near an occupied Trap, it would result in an entity's release. Ray Stantz (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #4" (2016) (Comic p.18). Ray Stantz says: "Well, I suppose -- oof -- if the Poveglian Artifact provided a large enough PKE surge, while in close proximity to an occupied trap, this could happen. In theory." * In Ghostbusters International #4, page 23, it was stated three Traps were used to capture the Caribbean Pirate Ship Manifestation. See Also *Trap/Animated *Capture and Trapping (realistic version) *Super Slammer Muon Trap *Megatrap Appearances *'Ghostbusters' *'Ghostbusters II' *'Ghostbusters: The Video Game' Secondary Canon Appearances *'88MPH Studios' **The Zeddemore Factor **Legion 1 **Legion 2 **Legion 4 *'Ghost Busted (manga)' **Chapter 1 **Chapter 3 **Chapter 5 *'IDW Comics' **"The Other Side 1" **"The Other Side 4" **"Displaced Aggression 1" **"Displaced Aggression 2" **"Displaced Aggression 4" **"Past, Present, and Future" **"Tainted Love" **"What in Samhain Just Happened?" **"Ghostbusters: Infestation 1" **"Ghostbusters: Infestation 2" **Volume 1 ***Issue #2 ***Issue #3 ***Issue #6 ***Issue #7 ***Issue #8 ***Issue #9 ***Issue #10 ***Issue #11 ***Issue #12 ***Issue #13 ***Issue #14 ***Issue #15 **Volume 2 ***Issue #1 ***Issue #2 ***Issue #3 ***Issue #4 ***Issue #5 ***Issue #7 ***Issue #8 ***Issue #9 ***Issue #10 ****"Tee Time Terror" ***Issue #11 ***Issue #12 ***Issue #13 ***Issue #16 ***Issue #17 ***Issue #18 ***Issue #20 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ghostbusters ***Issue #1 ***Issue #2 ***Issue #3 ***Issue #4 **Ghostbusters Get Real ***Issue #1 **Ghostbusters Annual 2015 ***"Bait Date" ***"No Sale" ***"World of the Psychic" **Volume 3 ***Ghostbusters International #1 ****Ready to Believe Everyone ****Haunted America Case File ***Ghostbusters International #3 ***Ghostbusters International #4 ****The Plot Thickens ****Haunted America Case File ***Ghostbusters International #5 ****Viva La Louvre ****Haunted America Case File ***Ghostbusters International #6 ****Part 6 ****Haunted America Case File ***Ghostbusters International #7 ****Part 7 ****Haunted America Case File ***Ghostbusters International #8 ****Part 8 ****Haunted America Case File *"Ghostbusters: Times Scare!" *The X-Files: Conspiracy: Ghostbusters *Ghostbusters: Deviations *'Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime' Cryptozoic Entertainment *Ghostbusters: The Board Game References Gallery Overall Primary Canon Trapbio.png|Trap in Ghostbusters TrapPedal01.png|Trap Pedal in Ghostbusters GB2film1999chapter12sc057.png|Trap Pedal in Ghostbusters II GB2film1999chapter12sc053.png|Trap in Ghostbusters II GB2film1999chapter12sc059.png GB2film1999chapter12sc060.png GB2film1999chapter12sc063.png GB2film1999chapter12sc090.png Secondary Canon TrapOtherSide.jpg|As seen in "The Other Side 1" TrapDisplacedAggression01.jpg|Used by Peter in Old West in "Displaced Aggression 1" TrapDisplacedAggression02.jpg|Used by Ray in Camelot in "Displaced Aggression 1" and "2" TrapDisplacedAggression03.jpg|Used by Ghostbusters Versailles in "Displaced Aggression 4" 18thCenturyTrapConceptArt.jpg|Concept Art for Trap in "Displaced Aggression 4" TrapDisplacedAggression04.jpg|Used by Rachel Unglighter TrapIDWOngoing.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Issue #2 TrapIDWOngoing02.jpg|While open in Ghostbusters Issue #6 TrapIDWOngoing03.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Issue #6 TrapIDW8.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Issue #8 TrapIDW2-1.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1 PKEMeterIDW17.jpg|Modified Trap connected to P.K.E. Meter, seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #18 GhostbustersMassHysteriaHCFrontCover.jpg|Top side seen on front cover of Ghostbusters: Mass Hysteria TrapInteriorMassHysteriaHC01.jpg|Looking out Trap on interior front cover of Mass Hysteria hardcover TrapInteriorMassHysteriaHC02.jpg|Trap interior on page one of Mass Hysteria hardcover TrapCircuitBoardMassHysteriaHC.jpg|Trap circuit board on page 464 of Mass Hysteria hardcover TrapSchematicMassHysteriaHC.jpg|Trap schematic on interior back cover of Mass Hysteria hardcover GhostbustersMassHysteriaBackCover.jpg|Under side seen on back cover of Mass Hysteria hardcover TrapIDWOngoing04.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters International #4 TrapIDWOngoing05.jpg|Ripped apart by Aibell in Ghostbusters International #7 TrapTimesScare.jpg|As seen in Times Scare! GhostTrapGBSOSsc01.png|As seen in Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime GhostTrapGBSOSsc02.png|As seen in Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime GhostTrapGBSOSsc03.png|As seen in Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Non Canon TrapLifeMagJan1985Page151.jpg|Seen on Life magazine January 1985, page 151 Category:Equipment Category:GB1 Equipment Category:GB2 Equipment Category:Ghostbusters: SOS Equipment Category:Ghost Busted Equipment Category:Ghostbusters 88MPH Equipment Category:IDW Equipment Category:GB:TBG Equipment